| Summary: | The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two distinctive stream restoration types on riparian bryophyte life and height form composition at two different elevations above the summer low water level within the river margin as well as the abundance of nitrogen fixing bryophytes in streams channelized for timber-floating. Riparian bryophytes were collected in August 2011 from two tributaries of the Vindel River in the boreal region of northern Sweden, within the reaches of a channelized, unrestored stream and a stream restored in 2003. The abundance of short bryophyte height forms at the elevation highest above the summer low water level was greater in the channelized reach than in the restored reach but no significant differences were found for total bryophyte height form biomass, short or tall bryophyte height forms at the lower elevation or for tall bryophyte height forms at the higher elevation. Nitrogen fixing bryophytes were only found in the restored stream reach but were absent from the channelized stream reach. The observed result may be an indicator of inadequate stream restoration strategies or a protracted effect of disturbances associated with the restoration effort, rather than ecological variables. It may also be a result of insufficient sample sizes or study range. In addition, knowledge of the long-term effects of stream restoration is limited. To understand the impact of restoration on riparian bryophyte abundance further analysis is necessary.
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